It's Okay
by SilverDragon1988
Summary: Short musing. Alistair and the Warden make their final stand at Orzammar. Alistair/Fem Fits any Origin .


Alistair felt it before she did. He didn't tell her, of course. The years had not changed him. His mouth still smiled brightly, his signature witty remarks did not slow. The younger Wardens they trained, even the most astute of them, could not have picked up a trace of difference. She knew almost immediately. She knew their age, and she had loved him long enough, been through enough with him, that the subtlest hint of unrest was plain to her.

It came to her not long after, and she set things in order for their departure right away. The land given to them by the Queen had become a busy, happy place. The Blight they had ended was a piece of history now, their names and the names of their beloved friends relegated to legend and the lectures of schoolmasters. Their Wardens were trained well, each of them hand selected by herself or Alistair. Leiliana, Zevran, and even stoic Sten had shown up from time to time to impart their wisdom (Though as Alistair had blushingly relayed to her later, as she laughed, several of their Wardens could have done without some of Zevran's advice). When they left for Orzammar, she did not fear for the future of her brethren.

The deep roads were as she remembered them, dusty and dark, and teeming with Darkspawn. It had been a good deal of time since she'd fought in a true battle, and she relished in it even knowing the reason she had come. Alistair looked as he had when she'd met him, fierce and driven.. sending her cheeky grins of pride every time they jointly took down an abomination. For weeks they fought, age had not dampened their skill. When they rested, they sat close together and spoke of the past - good and bad. They were ready, and content with spending their last days together, as they had for most of their lives.

When a section of the road floor fell in front of them and a cavern simply full of the wretched beasts trying to claw their way out was revealed, they didn't second guess themselves. She took the hand of the man she'd shared her life with, returned his confidant smile, and together they threw themselves into the fray.

The light was poor but they could see enough. She relished in the clang of steel, the crush of the battle raging around her. Alistair's hand slipped from hers, but she kept her back to his. She let out a cry of victory as the last demon before her fell, and she turned to congratulate her partner. She caught a glimpse of his prideful smirk before his gaze shifted. In an instant, he pushed her purposefully out of the way. She hit the ground and turned her body in time to see him fall, a monstrous horned Darkspawn wielding a long spear sneering down at him.

Her heart stopped, her eyes frozen on the ghost of that smirk still frozen on his face. The beast moved around Alistair's body toward her. She squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that blurred her vision. "It's okay," she choked out. He would have wanted this, they had planned on it all along. She would join him soon enough. She would not have to live without him. "It's okay."

She pulled herself to her feet and faced the sneering demon. This was her duty, this was why she'd given up the life she may have had. This was her purpose, who she was. She stole a glance at her fallen love, and launched herself at the beast. It's initial jab was easily sidestepped, and she used the momentum as it began to lift it's weapon again, stepping on the pole and leaping onto it, feeling for the first time the age in her knee. She thought briefly of Wynne, but shook nostalgia from her mind as her sword cut into the neck of the beast. It flung her to the ground, and she grit her teeth as it's spear was driven into her torso. The damage had been done, however, and it stumbled backward on to the ground with a final heaving groan.

Her wound hurt less than many others she'd received and she was less afraid than she'd once thought she'd be. Her arm snaked across the ground, her fingertips brushing Alistair's forehead. She fought tears, irrationally devastated though she was fast slipping to join him. "It's okay," she whispered to herself, chest heaving in her grief. Her voice echoed in the blood soaked, now empty cavern. The Wardens lived on, there was peace in Ferelden for the time being. Their mission was over, and for a few fleeting moments she was an ordinary woman for the first time in three long decades. She smiled, content with her life, and turned her head to gaze at Alistair. With a final shuddering breath she spoke again, "It's okay," and the Warden commander, hero of Ferelden, found her peace.


End file.
